Part 4: Destination Del Ray Beach (or, “All GOOD Things Must Come to and End!”)

In recapping our Florida 2011 trip in our journal and for the Birr archives, Shirley and I left a day early on February 26th from Kelly Lake to make it through a corridor of good weather that opened between strong storm fronts rolling through the mid-states; we missed tornadoes, flooding and snow. We drove 17 hours—Shirley drove half—to Venice, GA, staying one night, arriving at Indian Rocks Beach the 27th; staying one night at a fantastic Holiday Inn before heading to Sarasota for a stay at Kelly Lake’s Pete and Cindy Allcox—February 28th to March 4th. During our five day stay with them, we took the Key West Express from Ft. Meyers to Key West, staying at the Ibis Bay Resort for one night—March 2nd and 3rd. Also, Pete and Cindy took us to Siesta Key Beach and Mote Marine Laboratory—fantastic!

March 4th we set out for the Great Heron Inn on Indian Rocks Beach until the 10th; touring Tarpon Springs with friends from the Manitowoc (WI) Yacht Club; in general, having a ball with them! We left the Great Heron for Tampa and a visit with friend/artist extraordinaire there for most of the day, booking a room close to Busch Gardens. On March 11th we toured Busch Gardens and left for a 4-hour drive to Kelly Lake’s Bill and Ruby O’Neil at their home on the Intercoastal Waterway at Del Ray Beach—March 11th through March 17th (Parts 1-3 just posted).

That brings us to our final days at Del Ray Beach. Bill and Ruby’s generous hospitality, eagerness and enthusiasm kept us entertained and busy; Irish Festival, seeing sites including luxurious homes up the way to West Palm Beach, pubs, eateries and entertainment, visits with their friends, with plenty of time left at the pool.

Below is a collection of pics and text to wrap up a wonderful stay with our fine friends on the Intercoastal!

(Photos by Shirley; click to enlarge)

I’ve mentioned two close friends of Bill and Ruby, Chris Ruffo and Linda Dewysokie (see previous post ; http://kellylake.net/archives/6364 ). Before we left, Cindy invited us to her 12th-floor condo not far from Bill and Ruby for an outstanding view and meal! The three of them, Chris, Cindy and Ruby,with some assistance from Shirley, got to cooking-up one of Cindy’s superb cuisines as Bill and I savored the beauty of it all!

A view from Cindy’s 12th floor!

Intercoastal Waterway with the Atlantic Ocean in background.

Ruby and Chris.

Chris, Cindy and Ruby.

After a great meal, the tabletop came off and, “Wallah!”… bumper pool! I hadn’t played bumper pool since college (Class of ’73)! My memory banks had to be recharged as the the rules were gone over and strategies were shared and often debated; I was from the “old school”! Posturing myself with determination to demonstrate my billiard prowess, and my critiques (all of them!) bantering me to show ‘em what I got, I tried to dupe them with my form; accuracy wasn’t a priority at this point! My game—’old school’—was to get on the offense as soon as possible! They got defensive at such a tactic!

“You missed!”

Well, I guess Shirley shot me while I was shooting that can’t be rebutted! http://www.youtube.com/user/rjbirr?feature=mhum#p/u/0/XxuP4YYtZew

And, I did improve and think I held my own, for a duffer. We had a great time thanks to the hospitality and friendships!

Moving on, here are some final shots of our stay with Bill and Ruby!

A home on our roadtrip to West Palm Beach.

A power-nap in-between our outings.

Me, Bill, “Bob and Ruby on their balcony overlooking the Inter-coastal.

Bidding “Bob” farewell!

Shirley and I would like to thank Bill and Ruby for their gracious hospitality in their beautiful home in Del Ray Beach! It was a comfortable and relaxing visit, making us feel right at home, enjoying their company! I trust they didn’t go too much out of their way to make our stay a pleasant AND entertaining one! Thanks!

You can follow our trip to this point in our journal on this site at in “Links” at right under “Roger and Shirley’s Florida Escape”, or click on the link to this page, http://kellylake.net/archives/category/travel-with-us-for-3-12-weeks-through-florida-and-beyond-visiting-old-high-school-and-kelly-lake-friends .

Next stop, St. Augustine, Florida as we head up the east coast! Rog and Shirley

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